Floyd Epperson

He was born on July 24, 1908, in Centerridge, Ark. He was 2 when his father died and 11 when his mother died. He joined the Army out of high school in 1928. He was assigned to Company A, 9th Engineers at Fort Riley, Kan., one of the last horse-mounted companies. He represented the company as a rider in steeple chase, later putting in a tour at Tintsen, China.

After his discharge in 1935, he came to Juneau with an Army friend. They spent the winter at Echo Cove at Berners Bay, panning for gold, trapping and building a cabin. The next spring, he came to Juneau and worked in the Alaska-Juneau Gold Mine until it closed.

He met his wife, Gwendolyn, in Juneau, and they were married in Chehalis, Wash., in 1939. After returning to Juneau, he worked in the Juneau plywood mill, and commercial fished for many years. He finished his working years with the Alaska state ferry system.

He retired to Chehalis, Wash., where he enjoyed gardening and working in the yard. For the past year, he lived in the Woodland Estates retirement community in Chehalis. In May, he came back to Juneau to spend the summer with his family. He was a member of the Juneau Moose Lodge No. 700.

Memorial services will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 24, at the Chapel by the Lake. A reception will follow in Smith Hall. He will be buried beside his wife at Rainy Valley Cemetery in Glenoma, Wash. The family requests donations in his memory be sent to Hospice and Home Care of Juneau, 419 6th St., Juneau AK, 99801.